Thursday, November 22, 2012

Truce in Gaza Strip holding, Hamas celebrating

Latest Online News | Agenzia Giornalistica Italia | AGI:
(AGI) - Gaza, Nov. 22 - The truce in the Gaza Strip agreed by Israel and Hamas is holding, despite the fact that several rockets were launched from the area in the hours immediately after the cease-fire came into force on Wednesday. The rockets landed in uninhabited areas without causing damage. Later the firing of rockets stopped completely, and the sirens that could be heard in Sderot and Ashkelon turned out to be false alarm.
People in the Palestinian enclave are celebrating and Hamas has called a day of national celebration. Even supporters of Fatah, the rivalling faction run by PNA President Abu Mazen, took to the streets on Thursday morning. The mood in Israel is more varied: the army and government are certain that military installations of Hamas have been hit hard and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has stressed that air strikes on Gaza will be resumed if the truce is broken. But many others have said that Netanyahu is afraid of dealing the final blow to Hamas, two months before the general elections. While schools in the south of Israel remained closed, life in Gaza is returning to normal after eight days of disruption